Deadly Pink

It's so close to Christmas and I haven't even been posting anything. I got super busy with schoolwork and I had a deadline, so there was no time to blog. Actually, to tell the truth, I haven't even been reading much recently because of an English project that involves tons of reading and a lot of other stuff too.
Now as my goals for 2015, I will read as much as I can, in all genres and blog much more! I know it's kind of early to be thinking about 2015, but I like to think ahead and have a whole plan set out for me. Except, I usually don't follow that plan because there are other complications. I plan to double my number of reviews in 2015 and probably reach 75 if I can!

This book was just screaming Sword Art Online to me while I was reading it. (Okay fine, for those of you who don't know, Sword Art Online or SAO is a television show involving this girl who starts playing this simulation game and gets stuck inside it. There she can either beat the whole game and get out alive or die in the game and die in real life.)
Okay, yes I'm getting way off topic. Back to the book!

The cover-

Grace Pizzelli always wished to be like her older sister Emily. She's just the average one, while Emily is the amazing one. Where she loved video games, her sister loved makeup and looking pretty. When Grace needed it most, Emily was there to make it all better.

But this time, Emily needs Grace's help. She's gotten herself stuck inside one of the total immersion games at the new arcade. But the strange thing is that she doesn't want to come out. She's basically gotten herself totally immersed in a total immersion game. 

The technical team at the arcade has tried numerous times to forcefully pull her out of the game, but no matter what they do, her mind remains connected. It's like she doesn't want to live in the real world anymore. 

Grace is forced to enter the game in hopes that she can convince Emily to come out. 

And when she does, she nearly throws up at Emily's choice for the game she wanted to rot away in. It's a pretty pink world designed for ten year old girls. With fairies and houses made of candy.

With Grace trying to figure out how to play the game, she stumbles across a cast of interesting characters that are all mad at Emily for rigging the game. From little evil sprites to Emily's murderous servants, Pretty much everyone wants Emily gone, but they don't know how to get rid of her.

Upon meeting Grace, Emily spins her tale of shattered dreams and why she tried to kill herself inside the game. All because of good intentions that went horribly bad.

Grace finally convinces Emily to leave with her to the real world. But there is the small matter that they have to beat the game in order to leave. And funny thing is that they don't know how to. The game doesn't seem to have a problem that needs to be solved. And bribing the sprites into transporting them home would not be a wise idea, considering that they already hate Emily. So they plan to forcefully exit the game. Except how exactly are they going to do that?

Movie Rating- PG- for some action and some crude humor

My thoughts-

It was really interesting and kept me hooked for all the time reading it. I finished it in a few days because I just couldn't put it down. There was no way I was going to let go of a book that really spoke to me the way this one did. 

I myself am a little bit of a gamer. I mostly play minecraft and fantasy RPGs. Especially Summoner's War. My best friend introduced me to it and I'm completely hooked. I've been playing for almost a year actually... Only in the free time that I don't seem to have anymore. So when Grace was telling all of her experiences in the game, I couldn't help but connect it to games I've played in the past. Honestly, her expressions made me think of someone who plays Call of Duty all the time playing something cute like Cooking Mama. I'd be as disgusted too. Pink is not my thing at all.

The book is fairly short, but it's really interesting all the way through. There are no parts that seem to drag through. And that's what I look for in a good book.

One thing that seemed so weird to me was that all the male characters in the book were either mute or speaking another language. It's so strange that only the female characters were able to speak English. I'm wondering if this was because of Emily's changing the code or because this game was supposed to appeal to girls. 

What kept me laughing was when Grace entered the game again after the sprites threw her off the cliff and she materialized in a forest. While she was wandering around in the forest, she saw this boy sleeping in a hammock. He seemed fast asleep, so she didn't want to bother him. And then she realized that she desperately needed directions. So Grace woke him up and started talking to him. But he was extremely unresponsive. So since she thought he was of no use, she just tied him up to the tree in case he wanted to do anything to her. And then she felt really bad and untied him from the tree because he was too cute to be tied up there.

((There is no sequel that I know of. If I find out there is one, I will say right away in my next review. And there is a sequel to Blackout! It's called Deadzone! Can't wait to read it. You know what, I'll see if my library has it now!))

Prisoner of Night and Fog (Prisoner of Night and Fog Book #1)

I have been reading really slowly (partially because I'm lazy and partially because I have stuff to do.), but never fear. I have a new book to review.

This one I got because of an event in my school. I thought the book was very interesting and now we had a book discussion with the author. I never thought I'd ever meet someone who does this professionally.


The cover-

Gretchen is the beloved "niece" of the well-respected Herr Hitler. Because of this, she gets all sorts of perks associated with being close to the most powerful man in Germany.
But when she is suspected of helping a Jewish man after he is beat up by her brother and his friend, she catches the eye of the young and handsome reporter Daniel Cohen. He promises to her that he'll tell her what really happened to her father on the day he was killed.
In the days that follow, Gretchen is becoming more and more aware of the real hardship her family is going through. Her brother has become a monster who strikes fear into the hearts of her and mother. Her mother is hiding things about simple affairs that is making Gretchen wonder what their ulterior motives are.
What is her mother trying to hide? And when Gretchen goes to Hitler for support, she is turned away like she doesn't even matter.
The only one left to turn to is her elusive friend Daniel, who introduces her to many more allies who are equally as skeptical about her loyalties as she is. And who knows if he has his own use for her.
All Gretchen can do is hope that something good comes out of all of this and hope she doesn't get caught.

My thoughts-

A very well-written debut novel. Obviously a lot of preparation was done into the making of this. Every detail is so perfect. All the facts are correct. I like the story a whole lot. Although certain parts were a bit too painful to read, it's very detailed.
Each of the nearly four hundred pages is entertaining to read. You don't get bored. You don't feel like leaving it half way. I think this would be close to The Book Thief in my rankings of historical fiction genre. And that's pretty high. As I mentioned in my review of that book, it's my favorite historical fiction. I think this one could be second to that.
I think it's an amazing show of how good an author can be, even if they're just starting out. I think, if one takes their time, they can make a masterpiece.

I did finally get to meet the author. I learned quite a bit about World War II and how Hitler rose to power. I definitely walked out of both the presentation in school and the book club meeting with much more knowledge than I did coming in.
What was very interesting in my opinion was how the author was able to weave in the fictional murder of Gretchen's father with some actual events that happened in that time period. I honestly don't think it's easy to pull something like that off so well. It was very hard to believe.

This is basically an example of a very well-written long prose piece. I applaud the author tremendously for the amount of work she did (as she told us during the meeting.) and for the quality of the end result.

Movie Rating- PG-13 for violence, implied gore

((I love this book so much. The sequel is called Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke and will be releasing on April 21, 2015. I will keep an eye out for it around that time. Happy Reading!))

Variant

Yes, I know it's another science fiction book. Yes, I know I haven't been updating frequently. No, that's not a problem. It's really only because of my really crazy schedule that leaves me with no time to do any of the things I love (including blogging) for most of the week.

It's a book by Robison Wells, the author of Blackout, which I reviewed last month. I feel extremely sad that one of his books was sitting on my desk for nearly four weeks without me bothering to read it. Not what I intended, but I had almost five books to read before it.

Here's the cover-

Benson knows what it feels like to have to start fresh in a new area nothing like what you're used to. It's the drill. Being an orphan, he's used to moving from family to family. Some keep him from a few days to a week and others keep him for a few months. But no matter how attached he gets to his new family, Benson ends up having to move to a new family.
That all changes the year he signs up for a scholarship to Maxfield Academy. It seems like a prep school for smart kids, but Benson realizes that it's far from ordinary. In a school where there are no adults, there are three gangs of kids. One group is called Society, the keepers of the peace. Next is Havoc, the tough guys who think they're better than everyone. And last, Variant. The outcasts who didn't fit with either Havoc or Society. And they're probably the ones who haven't lost their sanity yet.
But soon their days of fun and games are over when Benson's friend Lily disappears and he has a disturbing vision about his girlfriend Jane that probably wasn't even a vision. After the two incidents, everyone is determined to break out. No matter what the cost.
However, there are spies within them and no one is safe. Who knows who is a spy and who is a student. Their last hope is to get out alive.


My thoughts-

Very well written. I'm not sure if I could call it science fiction. The androids could make it be science fiction, but I'm just not seeing it. Anyways, it was extremely well written. I felt like I was there along with Benson, struggling through each day.
I'm just having some after-finishing thoughts, but what happened to Lily? Was she kidnapped? Is she dead? Who knows. That's why there's a second book. And sadly enough, I have no clue what the name of that second book even is. So I have no way of requesting it. That's just horrible.
And also, the part where Benson woke up and saw himself in a well with Jane was a little weird. What bothered me enough was that she was drenched in blood and she pulled out her ear and plugged it in the computer. Not my type of thing. After reading that, I wanted to call it a night and go to sleep, but I kept reading.
And what makes me really sad was that Mason was also an android. He tried to kill Benson and Becky when they got over the wall because that was what he was programmed to do. He was programmed to kill anyone who got over the wall.
And honestly, why did Benson care to bring Becky with him, She's just a stuck up Society girl who is living her life having to suck up to the Iceman and the school. (the Iceman is the only adult in the school who gives out the morning announcements. He's nicknamed the Iceman because he reads the announcements each day in this sort of scary monotonous voice.)
But over all, the story was very interesting. It was full of crazy plot twists and all sorts of unexpected things got thrown at you. Which wasn't a bad thing in this case. Despite all the twists and turns, the story was relatively easy to follow. And simplicity is the best in novels. I honestly don't think anyone can stand reading a novel that has a way too complicated plot to even follow. (Actually, when I was a little younger, I wrote this really interesting story about animal-human shapeshifters that was so confusing even I couldn't follow it sometimes. That's why I know from experience that simple stories are usually much easier to read than very detailed stories with complicated plots. I guess I've gotten better as a writer. That's good to know.)

((I will find out the name of the second book in this series and definitely include it in my next post. Which might not be for a while because the first two weeks of November will probably leave me with almost no time to do anything.))

The Foundling (Monster Blood Tattoo Book #1)

It's been almost a month since I wrote an article. The reason- Life caught up to me and wasn't going to let me go. But I did get to read. Quite a bit. About this book, it's way better than the title sounds. Take it from me.

Honestly, if there's anything I'm really into, it's either monster hunting or alien attacks. Don't know why it appeals to me, but that's just how I am. Hey, I'm also into a few books about necromancy and some of the whole Angel and Demon fad.

The cover-

Rossamund is a boy with a girl's name. For all his years at the orphanage, he was always teased that his parents thought he was a girl and that he was a weakling just like a girl. Until the day where he was requested by the army to be a lamplighter, lighting the candles at night around the army camps.

Leaving the Orphanage is hard enough, but Rossamund is stuck trying to navigate in unfamiliar territory with his only guide, Fransitart the groundskeeper. 

When he is to board a boat that will take him to a town near to his destination, Rossamund meets a girl also headed for a destination in that area. Her name is Europe, a traveling monster hunter. Well, the trainer of a monster hunter. The real hunter is her partner who could be considered part monster himself.

They together make a duo that kills monsters that are bothering humans. They have a job to take care of in a forest in the province where the boat reaches. 

After finishing a fight and Europe's partner dead, Rossamund accidentally finds out her real identity. In truth, she is nothing like a monster hunter. In fact she has a more powerful role than he could have ever imagined. And since her partner has died, Rossamund is in for a very different occupation.

While traveling with Europe on their various quests, Rossamund is in for the ride of his life, finally realizing that "some people can be downright lethal."

Movie Rating- Rated PG-13 for violence and some disturbing scenes

My thoughts-

One of the most thought provoking monster novels I have ever read. The details are a little hard to grasp when you are beginning the book, but once you are probably half way through the book, you start to understand the amazing ways of Rossamund's world. 

And the last hundred pages are all an Explicarium which explains the workings of the land of the Half-Continent, giving answers to most of your questions throughout the book.

Rossamund is a really interesting character. He and Europe really do make the best team. They are pretty much exact opposites and their fights are what make the book very light at times. But the majority of the book was meant to be a scary novel meant for Halloween time with a very deep meaning.

What I must say is that you are provided with illustrations of the characters and the monsters, so it is actually a bit easier to picture the characters the way the author pictured them. Honestly, the monsters look way scarier when they are drawn than what I imagined. And I never imagined Europe to be the age she is. And Rossamund is described to be older, but in his picture, he looks like a little kid. I finally understand the ripping out hair that some authors might feel like doing when they find that everyone imagines the same character differently. That's why some provide illustrations. But never before have I seen a whole world laid out for me in this way.

I can't wait to get the other books in this series, but I put it on my hiatus list for a while because I have a lot of books to read, both for school and outside of school. And honestly, the stack of books on my desk is like a tower now. I don't even think it could be called a stack. And I bought a few more books to add to my library of a room and plan to buy some more tomorrow. More reviews on those coming up when life decides to let go of me (aka, when I actually manage to finish all my homework and studying. Which is just about never. Hey, I often struggle to find time to write during the day).

Pathfinder (Pathfinder Book #1)

Another Orson Scott Card book. Ah, the wonder. Because of the Ender's Game series, I am a major fan of his books. Because of that series, I have begun to love the amazing world of science fiction where almost anything one can dream of is possible. Since reading Ender's Game, I've been reading much more science fiction than I ever cared to do in the past.

Once again a result of my endless time surfing through the library books. I have to say that even though it's a highly inefficient method of finding interesting books, it works nearly 85% of the time.

The cover-

Rigg can see the paths of the people around him. Like little colored areas in front of him, he can trace how a person traveled from place to place. Even animals have their own paths which he can see and use.
After a big misunderstanding between a friend over the death of a loved one, two unlikely companions find themselves on a journey to the ancient city of Aressa Sessamo to find Rigg's sister and secure the throne for him.
However things are not as simple as they seem. The city is divided into those who want Rigg to rule and those who want him dead. In fact, when his great grandmother Aptica Sessaminka was queen, she wanted every male member of the Sessamoto family killed. Even when little babies were born, they were slaughtered for the crime of being male. In this new place in a foreign city, Rigg must not trust anyone, being supported by those who want him crowned and constantly hunted by those who want him dead.
Life just becomes a battle to survive to see the next day for him as he thwarts the queen's evil plans and saves his sister to regroup with his true allies, an inkeeper named Loaf and a boy named Umbo who can shift time. The four of them, aided by a scholar who personally knew Rigg's father try to escape their only home before the queen and her Army commander get to them first.

My thoughts-

It's an extremely long book and a thing that should be read in chunks. Obviously the size shows that reading it will take a while. It took me about two and a half weeks. I often wonder how long it took to write a book like that.

The beginning is a little boring and the first two hundred or so pages seem to drag on forever. What really made it so slow was Umbo's initial mistrust for Rigg after seeing him "kill" his younger brother Kyokay. Rigg tries to reason with him multiple times that Kyokay's death was bound to happen. That boy was so adventurous that eventually it was going to kill him. It was as simple as that. But Umbo insisted that Rigg murdered him, leading a mob with his father Tegay to storm down the door to Rigg's house so he could be killed.
After this, it takes a while for them to form a bond that could be considered friendship. When the fighting in the beginning is over, the plot is very speculative and one can finally realize what makes up a society and what can so easily tear it into pieces. I like how both Rigg and Olivenko keep making good points with Param always confused and Loaf and Umbo bickering all the time. It added a bit of humor to the rather serious plot and the real danger they were being put in.
To me, Rigg and Olivenko show that the brightest of scholars can come from the most unusual of places. Param shows that the status that someone was born into does not necessarily secure a comfortable life. Loaf and Umbo show that even those who work for their bread can achieve as high of a status as the royals in their opinions.

The first book is sort of a lead-in to the rest of the series, and now looking back and trying to explain it, it's impossible without giving the end away. But as something to look for that I really enjoyed, all the answers to the questions are given right at the end of the book. Soon they figure everything out and can continue with their quest.
What seems right by the theories the characters have come up with at the end of the first book seems completely nonsensical by the time their ideas change at the end of the second book. So nothing is ever clearly right or wrong. To put it in analogy, it's like a tunnel that forks into a left and right passageway. If they go one way, they will be eaten up by a monster and if they go the other way, they will get to go through the path to freedom. What's so interesting about this book is that, in case they pick the wrong turn and are faced with the monster, Rigg and Umbo can just pop their crew back in time so that they can try the other path and get out, leaving the previous version of themselves to be swallowed by the monster. Except they also have multiple rules to be followed, like how they must not their previous selves see them and other things.

Movie Rating- PG-13 for violence, brief bouts of strong language, some disturbing scenes

((I highly recommend reading the sequel. It  deepens the mystery even more, adding a new problem to the arsenal of them. Look for Ruins, book two in the Pathfinder series. And once that's finished, the third and final book, Visitors will end the story.))

Blackout

I'm very sorry for not updating often. I was on vacation for almost a month and school started a few weeks ago. I've been slammed with homework, but now that reading is part of my homework, I'll be able to finish more books and update more often. But I'll continue to post about books I've read in the past. And soon I'll be back to my computer at home and not this annoying tablet.

Yes. Earlier today I just sat down and finished the end in half an hour. Just wanted to get it out of the way. My cousin gave me some other suggestions for book reviews and I promised her that I would review them as soon as I could. Yeah. I got this one when I was at the library with a friend of mine. That's when I saw this one and checked it out.

Here's the cover-

It's prom day at Mount Pleasant high school. Everyone is in their best dress for the dancing. But for Audrey, this isn't what she wanted. The glory, the boyfriend, the dress and most of all, the popularity. It's just abnormal. Because before meeting Nicole, she was just Audrey the invisible. Audrey the impossible. However, this is the life she never had and had always wanted. But there's something strange going on. She can become invisible. Not really full out disappearing, but somehow she was able to convince people that she wasn't there and that they weren't seeing anything.
Jack doesn't really care what's going on. He's content cleaning up after the dance. All he wants is peace and quiet. Sitting on the roof of his car, drowning out the world, all is well with him. He couldn't care less about popularity. As long as he doesn't flunk school, that's all that matters.
A surprise attack by some wild boys makes the police come and take everyone away. It is determined that those who went wild were infected by a virus called the Erebus virus. The Erebus virus gives its victims incredible superpowers, but kills them slowly, making them eventually go insane and try to pass the virus on to others.
All the teenagers in the area are sent to military centers where they are tested for the Erebus virus. Somehow, Audrey comes out clean. She thinks someone has swapped out her results.
Jack comes out with the virus and is thrown into a cell, not knowing what will happen next. Will he be dissected, or straightaway executed.

Jack finds comfort in a fellow victim of the virus named Laura. She is able to destroy things instantly with her hands. Despite how strong she is, Laura seems to have a very kind heart and warms up to Jack. The pair become fast friends, finding comfort in talking to each other through the bars of their cells.
Audrey meets a boy named Alex whom she thinks she knew. He tells her that he was in her elementary school for fourth grade and then moved away soon after. In a room full of strange people, Audrey is happy that she was able to find one familiar face. But there's something screwy going on with him and she just can't figure out what.

The Erebus victims, also know as Lambdas are used as special military weapons used to catch terrorists. There have been multiple incidences that seem impossible to be made by humans. The military is forced to suspect that the Lambdas are behind it. The guess is that somehow the terrorists got mixed in with all the teenagers that were rounded up. And once they get the reason to, the world will be destroyed and all hell will rain upon them.

My thoughts-

It shaped my love for science fiction. Ender's Game started it and Blackout deepened it. It's a very thought provoking novel and I like how it's very unrealistic, but not too overboard. Sometimes when I read science fiction, the author makes the concept too overpowering and it doesn't even seem like the concept could be real at all. This book uses people that we can relate to and twists them beyond what our minds can do.
The idea is brilliant. It's very imaginative and I was forced to wonder, What would be done if something like this were to happen? It really seems like it could never happen, but you never know. It helps us brainstorm all the radical ways that terrorists will try to bring our world on its knees. Sometimes even genetically modifying themselves to have superpowers will be an option. This book faces the issue of whether our world is really safe. Or that safety is just an illusion created by people with the power to shut us up and keep us from wondering.

There is a prequel to this called Going Dark where the origin of the Erebus virus is explained. It is sadly not in my library and I'll have to either buy it or read it online. (At the rate I want to buy books, my room will turn into a library.) Also, another book by the same author is called Variant. It seems to be more popular than this one, so check it out. (I currently have it on request. Hopefully it comes soon.)

Everybody Sees The Ants

This book made me realize that there is no problem in being different. However, it was really interesting, making me want to read it even more. But all the more hilarious. In a more mature way. Recommended for high school boys especially but girls will enjoy it all the same. I know I did.

I found this around the time I read Kiki Strike. I was just browsing in the Young Adult's section and came across it. I liked the story and decided to read it. It's a very realistic story.
Here's the cover-

Lucky has an interesting yet very hard life. His father is a professional chef who is often away. His mother is a swimmer who takes her passion very seriously. And he is just Lucky. Lucky the Loner. Lucky the Loser. Lucky the Lucky I guess. Not that it matters in any way. To him at least. But that's all he lets on. And there's more going on in his life than anyone can ever imagine.

Every night, he journeys to the jungles of Laos in Vietnam where his grandfather went missing. And in his dreams, he sees his grandfather, all wide smiles and powerful rifles. And he starts to see ants. A single file line of ants that seems to go in any direction. And they tease him all the time. They tell him he's weak. They tell him that he's useless. But they're only hallucinations. 

But his school life is just plain strange. He now sees the counselor every once in a while because of a class survey he wrote for a project. He wrote on his ballots "How would you want to kill yourself?". Which actually isn't half that bad of a question. But maybe it's bad for a school project. So now his parents and his counselor think that he is being bullied and his need for attention is showing through the project.
True, he is being bullied, but still it's enough for him to cope with. He's got only one real friend. Laura. A girl from his class who plays cards with him at the pool when his mom is swimming. And then there are the idiots that tease him. They are a rather notorious gang in the school, but focus their attention primarily on Lucky. The strange thing is that no one notices him at all except them.

Suddenly, for one week during the summer vacation, Lucky's mother drags him to his yoga obsessed aunt's house. Literally she's yoga obsessed. Because she keeps yelling at him to put his clothes and bags in specific places so that it "doesn't disrupt the flow of chi throughout the house." Yeah, that lady has either been watching way too many martial arts movies or is taking yoga way too seriously.
One night, he gets dragged outside in the middle of the night by a band of rebellious girls in all black who teach him the ways of being different from the crowd. He likes being with all of them, but the one he enjoys the company of most is Virginia or Ginny. She's actually a model for shampoo commercials but has been trying to convince her cheap parents not to sell her off to some random company so they can make loads of money.
While spending time with Ginny, he starts to find comfort in a real friend. In a friend who has also gone through similar and still very different experiences. Even though he doesn't know it, this could possibly be the best week of Lucky's life.

My thoughts-

Really funny. It was just one of those laugh out loud novels. Literally you could "LOL" at everything each of the characters say.
One thing I learned from Lucky- Don't complain about your life because you can always escape from it in your imagination.
I also have that horrible habit of complaining about everything. A quote that relates to this book and my problem- "All I wanna do is trade this life for something new, holding on to what I haven't got." We all hate our lives for some reason or another. And we always want to change them for some reason. That's part of what makes us human. Don't worry. You are not alone.
Now back to the book. It was an interesting and entertaining story. I spent two whole nights reading it. Which clearly proves that I love it. I'd recommend it for lovers of slightly older young adult fiction and comedy.

((Just one really awesome standalone novel. No sequel that I know of.))

So B. It

This was quite the thought provoking novel I read around Christmas, a time when you think about everything you're thankful for. It made me take a whole new look at mental disorders and how they affect the lives of the people with them and those of the people around them. This was one of those books that very nearly made me want to cry. Except, once again I stopped myself from shedding tears.

This book was suggested to me by a (different) friend of mine. I put it off until I was one day browsing in our school library for interesting books. I then remembered the suggestion and checked it out. That decision I do not regret at all.

Here's the cover-

Heidi's mom has a mental disorder. She can't seem to speak properly and is really afraid of buses because they seem to make her remember something. Problem is that she can't remember what. 

Heidi and her mom live in a small house in a city, never having to take care of any bills. The shopping is done by their next door neighbor who also assists Heidi in everyday tasks she can't do by herself. The three of them are living a happy life that seems to repeat every day. 

Their neighbor has been trying to teach Heidi's mom how to talk. Every day they sit down in a room and she points at random objects and asks Heidi's mom to repeat them. Heidi keeps a list of words that her mom can say on the refrigerator door. Apart from all the normal words, there are two things that puzzle her. Her mother says "So Be It" in response to being asked what her name is. But the funny thing is that she only uses the three words together and not as separate words every time she says it. So Heidi starts calling herself "Heidi It" with "It" being her last name. Their neighbor often remarks that "It" shouldn't be a person's last name and that "So Be It." shouldn't be a name all together. It means to end something.

After receiving a letter from a person in Colorado who seems to have connections to her mother, Heidi sets off on a cross country journey to find out who her mother really is and why they are living the life they have. When Heidi reaches her destination, she is thrown a boatload of secrets her mother would never be able to explain, even if she had the words to. Including an unhappy father and an eternal childhood spent with a best friend. Heidi finds out who her mother really is and what kind of people they are destined to be.

My thoughts (It contains spoilers)- 

A very thought provoking book. The end was never foretold and just happened so suddenly. When Heidi was coming back to her house, she called her neighbor to see if everything was alright and her neighbor told her the horrible news. Her mother had gotten sick and she had tried everything and then she just died. Heidi was crying on the other end of the line partly because she missed her mother and partly because she wanted to tell her mother that it wasn't her fault. She wanted to sit down and explain it all to her. Make her mother feel better forever.

I thought it was interesting about how "Soof" was what Heidi's mom could only say if she was told to say her name. Her real name was Sophia. But she often called herself "So Be It" since she was a child. Her father had no clue where she'd heard it and why she was so attached.

Heidi also found some lead on who her father was. Except it was highly unlikely. Her mom had a best friend named Elliot when they were younger. They liked each other so much that they wouldn't even want to stay more than a few feet away from each other. He too had a mental disorder. That was probably a reason they were so close. Because they understood what the other was going through. Even if they couldn't express it. Maybe they could feel it.

But one day, her father woke up and found out that Sophia was pregnant. Weird. Because Elliot couldn't have done it. He said that they seemed so much like children that it didn't feel right to be possible. Her mother vouched to take her away to a safe place when the baby was born. He says that after Sophia left, Elliot was never the same. He always wanted her to come back. 

And the reason Sophia was so afraid of buses. Because her mother slipped and fell while getting off one and died the night they came to Sophia's new house.

((A next few reviews coming up on books I've read in the past. I may get some fine details wrong, but don't mind me.))

Candor

This book has truly changed the way I perceive my parents and the rules of society. This was a really beautiful story.It was making me cry. And I would not have fared well crying in a car filled with people. Right?

I found this when my brother was at his piano concert. It happened to be at the library, so while the other kids played, I went looking for books. I had also been looking at this for a while. It seemed very appealing. Because it is true in real life. "You are what you hear." People are judged almost immediately on their choices. And every parent wants their family to have a good name so they make their kids capable of making the right choices. But could some go so overboard as to turn their kids into mindless robots, only seeking the path to success and pushing aside everyday mundane things?

Here's the cover-

Candor is a model town. Founded by Oscar's father, Mr. Banks, it is the best place on Earth for kids with behavioral issues. And some just want to live there for the bragging rights. Why? Because of the Messages. No one fights the Messages because they seep into your brain eventually. Hidden inside music CDs, they transform even the most rebellious children into perfect Ivy League students. And parents are given special Booster Messages custom made for each family to support their children.

Oscar has been resisting the Messages ever since he found out what they were. He acts like the model child of Candor for his father and the rest of the town, but no one has ever found out about his secret plans. He takes the richest and most hopeless cases out of town before they change. Because the world needs a few bad kids to keep everything interesting.

His life has been going according to plan until he meets Antonia "Nia" Silva. She's a rebel girl, dressed in all black, an artist and a graffiti vandal. Not that it's all a bad thing. After seeing the reactions of other kids to her, Oscar decides to get to know her better. Soon he finds himself falling in love and becoming the real him just for her. Oscar just can't bear to see the Messages change her once and for all. So he creates his own Booster Music for her. Special messages like "The Messages can't change me." or "I am worthy.", "I am unique." and things like that.

But somehow, a leak springs and Oscar's father becomes aware of his plans. Now it's up to Oscar to save the girl of his dreams from the robot factory known to the United States as Candor, Florida.

My thoughts-

Just about one of the most meaningful books I've read. Interestingly enough, I think the story is quite believable and the book isn't nearly as harmful as I thought it would be originally... Doesn't every parent want their child to live a good life? Well, I think some would go so extreme as to turn their kid into a robot if their kid weren't already well behaved. But despite getting good grades and all that jazz, there should still be some room for creativity. And mundane pleasure. Like for example, there was a message for body space that said, "Respectful space in every place.". Now that kind of thing prevented the children from even holding hands while they were on a date. Weird. Now who wouldn't want to hold their boyfriend or girlfriend's hand while they were going to a movie or the ice cream parlor.

A big lesson in this story- "Everything is only good in moderation." Even the most talented students need a break to relax and act like a normal person. In short, you can't make the perfect kid. Every kid will still have imperfections. It's just the parent's choice whether they want to ignore or fix the imperfections.

There is no sequel to this one, but I have two more books to read before I go on vacation. I'll try to get them reviewed within the next three weeks.

Karma Club

I don't read realistic fiction often but I think this book made me rethink all the prejudice I had in my mind about the whole genre. Really, I don't like realistic fiction because it reminds me of my life and I read so I can escape my life, not be brought back to it. But this book made me laugh and feel happy and sad for the characters.

I'd been looking at this book for a long time, eyeing it on the shelf. Like Finnikin, I'd take it off the shelf and examine it before putting it back. I just wasn't sure whether it was safe or not. Now I found out that I was kinda right on not trusting it. It's slightly more mature than you think. But not in a bad way. In a very funny way.

Here's the cover-

Maddy, Jade and Angie were all disrespected by boys. Maddy's boyfriend dumped her for the most popular girl in school. Jade's old boyfriend made love with another girl before her. Angie's just had bad experiences with them in general. When Maddy's mom takes her on a surprise visit to a spiritual center, Maddy learns about the force of Karma that controls the balance of energy in the universe. She and her friends decide to create a Karma Club where they give payback to the boys that hurt them.

As everything seems to be going well, Maddy lets down her guard a little. She gets put with a new tutoring student who signed up anonymously only to find out that it is Spencer, one of the boys that they were targeting for revenge. After spending time with him, she begins to realize that Spencer isn't the stuck up snob he seems to be from a distance. But how will Maddy be able to save Spencer and convince her friends that he isn't evil without giving away their secret relationship? And with all the Karma setting they've been doing, will Karma eventually bite them like it bit their targets?

My thoughts- 

It was a very relateable story which I say is hard to find. Even in the realistic fiction genre. I know I am too young to have a boyfriend, but I too have been cheated as a friend and have wanted revenge. The Karma Club wasn't.necessarily.the best choisce of action but it was driven on by pure motives anyone can relate to. Honestly, I learned one lesson from this book. Never try to control forces that are completely out of your control.A very detailed plot with many twists and turns. I recommend it to anyone around high school age.But definitely for lovers of comedy and romance.

Dragonswood (Wilde Island Chronicles Book #1)

I have had nothing else to do for these past weeks, so I've been reading a lot. Just to fill the void. It makes me feel better. This one I actually finished in about maybe six hours total. Not continuous though. I read for maybe three hours the previous night because I was slightly unsettled by a movie, an hour the next morning after waking up and then two hours that afternoon after my friend left and the World Cup match ended on the fourth of July. And I guess my eyes aren't all that bad either. That's awesome!

The cover-

There has always been something weird about Tessa. She sees things in flames. She can't call the visions but whenever something bad happens, they just seem to catch her. No one but her Grandpa know about it. The last time she saw her fire visions was at her brother Adam's funeral when they cremated his body. She saw a girl dancing around in the flames. 

A few days later, the midwife begins to claim that it was Tessa who killed her brother. She says that Tessa is a witch. Tessa denies it as best as she can. During a trial, the jury is completely on the midwife's side. How can this be? What happened to justice. Her enemies even testify that they saw her and two other friends in dragonswood dancing naked with Satan. That couldn't be further from the truth. When Tessa is nearly killed, she gives out her two best friends Poppy and Meg's names. Because of this, the three of them are forced to run. And Meg's husband is put in prison for supposedly aiding a witch. 

A few days into their hideout, Tessa goes back to the prison to save Tom. There she comes in contact with the horror that has become her friend. Once a happy and smiling man, he is reduced to a fear-ridden and abused boy.

More troubles await them when Tom isn't faring all too well and the four of them are forced to take the help of a huntsman named Garth. But as Tessa begins to learn more about him, she learns some startling truths about the man who is taking care of them and some facts about her true heritage.

My thoughts-

Don't let the size of this book discourage you. It's got nearly four hundred pages but each is packed with a beautiful story. Garth's true identity was also a shocker. I had always believed him to be a huntsman. I guess he really is Prince Bion. And the way they fall in love. Ahhh. I'm dying right now.

And for some odd reason I love the name of Tessa's father. Onadon. It's just so fun to say. Onadon. Onadon. Onadon. I will use that name someday soon in a story.

I can't believe there's a sequel too. I hardly have time to read now, but I will make more time to do so. It's my favorite thing to do.

There's a sequel too. It's called Dragon's Keep. I wonder if this solves the political issues. I hope if Bion and Tessa get married. There are too many things to think about right now!

The Book Thief

I used to be quite unhappy with most WWII fiction books. Either they didn't tell the story properly, they were too graphic or favored only one side of the story. This book helped me shape most of my views on one of the darkest times in our world's history. In my opinion, it's completely different from all the other WWII books I've read.

I had wanted to read it for a while because it was increasingly becoming popular and I've heard that it is going to be made into a movie. I can't wait to see Liesel and Rudy on the big screen. I was browsing on the library website once and saw it under the bestseller children's list. That's when I remembered to request it.

Here's the cover that I read from.

The story starts with little ten year old Liesel and her brother riding a train to go to their foster family's house in a town called Molching. Their mother just recently died and they are being sent to a new home. Unfortunately, Liesel's brother dies from a severe cold and it is her alone who will reach Rosa and Hans Hubermann's house.
Rosa Hubermann is a strict lady who always wants everything done perfectly. She rarely shows any emotion except anger and frustration. She often calls her husband Hans (and then Liesel later on) Saukerl or Saumensch. Meaning "garbage" and "idiot". But she really does care. Deep down there is a frightened woman hoping every day that she won't wake up to be dead or see her loved ones dead.
Hans Hubermann is an easygoing accordion player who pays little to no attention to his wife's constant insults. It's a miracle that they get along at all. Even though he has a very mellow and accepting personality, he holds a dark past and a whole boatload of secrets he doesn't even trust Rosa with.
Liesel starts school and starts a deepening friendship with a boy named Rudy Steiner from her neighborhood. They go on many escapades together, trying to steal food from others in these hard times.
But if there's one thing Liesel can't get enough of in this new life, it's the books. They started as the book she saw buried in dirt at the train station. It was called the Grave Digger's Handbook. It was about what its name implies. Then it grew to midnight lessons on German with Hans Hubermann. He taught her how to read. And then to write. Soon she had finished the Grave Digger's Handbook and was moving on to other books.
Then came the man who changed her life forever. Max. An escaped Jew. He was the son of Hans' friend who died in the first World War. Max hid in their basement and escaped capture for how many months. He and Liesel had a steady friendship. Soon she began to love him as a brother. Until he too had to leave. He walked away with his bag slung across his shoulder.
Rudy gets selected to enter the Nazi Army, but his father refuses. The war rages on. Until what Liesel had dreaded most happens. Until it is all over.

My thoughts-

One of the most well-written books I have ever read. Let me start with the narration. The interesting thing about this book is that Liesel isn't the narrator. It is Death who is narrating the story. Death often explains how she is often left so busy during the war to carry souls. But whenever she had to come to Molching, she would always spy on Liesel and note down some more of her life story.
As she says, "Only a few men are able to cheat me once. But there are even fewer who can cheat me twice." And that's almost exactly what Liesel did. She cheated Death so many times just to be with the ones she cared about.
And the end is just about the saddest I have ever heard of. Even Rudy was gone during the air raid. I like how Death says that she just pulled Rosa's soul out from her mouth mid-snore and left her mouth there open and gaping. All who were left were Liesel and Mr. Steiner. They together are trying to resurface Molching from the rubble. I didn't cry (I'm pretty heartless while I'm reading. I feel no emotion while doing it.) but I could feel myself getting sad by reading it.
Everything is perfectly paced. Liesel spends about four years with the Hubermanns before the story ends. Those four years actually feel like four years because Zusak writes about almost every day of that time.

In short, one of the most touching historical fiction books I have ever read.

Elemental (Elemental Trilogy Book #1)

So, I've been really busy with exams and a few side projects recently. I never got the chance to write on here. I'm going to continue to read an awful lot for the summer, so stay tuned! I kind of have to confess that I haven't finished this book yet but I'm at the very end.

Once again this book came from just really randomly browsing in the young adult's section. What's really cool is that one of my friends has read it and we once spent the whole day talking about it. Yes it was a little (if not very) annoying to hear two teenage girls talk about a fictional boy from a book. And not in the "I love him, I want to marry him" kind of way. In the "Did you see how Tom and Alice were able to sneak past the pirates on Hatteras island?" type way.

Here's the cover-

Thomas is the only one in his colony who doesn't have an Element. He and his younger brother only longingly watch their elder brother and father in the way they command fire to help the colony. Thomas' younger brother Griffin is deaf, but he is also a little crazy. In a prophetic sort of way. He can sense when tragedies happen. And he latches onto the person who is going to die, trying to stop them but they eventually die anyways. His older brother Aninas is the pride of the family. He is next in line to become the fire guardian when their father dies. 

When a horrible storm washes away their colony, the Guardians, the Apprentices and the children have to go to the hurricane shelter on Roanoke Island. But there is something strange about Roanoke Island. On one side is the Hurricane Shelter and on the other side is Skeleton Town. It is a ghost town filled with strange objects Thomas and his friends have never seen before. The Guardians warn them not to go there for fear that it will collapse. But could there be some other reason?

When Guardian Lora is sick, she asks Thomas to bring her a bottle from the drugstore in Skeleton Town that says "Aspirin" on it. Naturally, Thomas knows nothing about Aspirin, but when he tries to find the bottle, he can't. In the rain, Thomas comes back to the shelter to see that Lora is dead. He awakens the others and they perform the ritual for the deceased.

The next morning, pirates arrive. They are infamous to the colony for killing Thomas' mother. The Guardians and their apprentices leave to investigate. A day passes by and there is no word from them. Thomas and his friends are getting anxious. The pirates seem to have made camp on Hatteras island where their colony was. The children are forced to stay only on Roanoke. But they learn more secrets about themselves and the lies the Guardians have been feeding them. To save them from the real threat. That isn't the pirates but something more.

My thoughts-

I haven't reached the end, but it is very interesting. I thought the beginning was a little boring but I think that's just me. But apart from that, it was really good. The descriptions aren't so detailed that they overpower the story but are just enough to accent it.

What's really interesting is that this book is written in a very straightforward way. The language is very simple. In example, there is no extreme twist in the story or a hidden ending that was foretold in the most subtle way. There are no jokes, just plain writing. Which is a good and a bad thing. I think it fits John's style just right.

The way the book is written, the characters are all neatly laid out for you and they each present their own problems as time goes on. And each of their problems gets fixed. Well, some die before their problems can be solved and others never get their problems solved. That's where the other books come in.

((If you liked this one, there is a sequel called Firebrand and in November this year, there will be a third book called Renegade. I really can't wait.))

hush, hush (Hush, Hush Book #1)

This book was possibly the first supernatural love story I actually cared about. But that little alarm in the back of my brain kept on screaming "TWILIGHT! TWILIGHT!" I'm happy that this was a love story, but the romance was really kept to a minimum.

I just started randomly browsing in the Young Adults section and thought this one was interesting. I swear that in my library, the majority of the young adult section is useless garbage. Anyone who lives near me and goes to the same library can agree.

Here's the cover. I need to draw the person on the cover before I return the book. ((Hey, I'm too busy to draw anymore. It's a miracle that I can write on here at all))

Nora Grey has always lived a normal life. That is, until the day that the mysterious and elusive Patch waltzed into her life. He seems to know exactly what to say and do to attract and repel Nora. In an instant, her life is turned upside down. 

Turns out, this boy with a gambling addiction and a dark past has an even worse secret no one can ever know. And Nora holds the key to his heart where it lies. Unknowingly, she frees that side of him that he has kept suppressed for so long out of fear that he'd hurt someone again.

Nora's best friend Vee has made friends with two equally strange and elusive boys, one who transferred to their school and the other who still goes to a very exclusive school called Kinghorn Prep. She has hopes that they will notice her, but they seem to like Nora more, especially the one named Elliot.

After doing some research on Elliot, Nora comes to the conclusion that he was held responsible for the death of a girl at his school who was his girlfriend at the time. But he was eventually found innocent when police officers found a suicide note in her room. They just believed that the cause of death was suicide and let Elliot go.

Upon finally figuring out Patch's secret some days later, Nora is put into panic mode. Fallen angels have to sacrifice a girl Nephilim in order to get a human body. And a human body seems to be what Patch wants most, considering that he can't feel anything in his current body.

Will Nora survive the imminent danger of death and still be true to her one and true Patch?

My thoughts-

A really good read for fans of Twilight and The Mortal Instruments. I was never a Team Jacob or Team Edward person, but Jace always seemed cool to me.
There isn't really a love triangle until the second book, so I guess I won't be able to elaborate on that. And then, the love triangle is fairly one-sided, so it's quite obvious who Nora is going to end up with at the end of the series.
The book is fairly thick and the whole beginning is a little boring until it picks up speed with the introduction of Elliot and Jules.
There are no real flaws in the plot or the storytelling, but I found it a little weird at certain times when Patch would just pop out of nowhere and do amazing things to save Nora...

Okay, so this topic may be trivial and weird, but I found it a little strange how Nora's mom didn't really care where she was, who she was with or what she was doing. Any mom who had their husband brutally murdered would want to know every little detail about where their child is going and what she is doing. Although Nora does make smart choices all throughout, I just thought that her mom was always out of the way and basically let Nora do whatever she wanted.

If you enjoyed this one, there are three more books in the series- Crescendo, Silence and Finale. I highly recommend reading Crescendo and Silence, but I am currently in the process of reading Finale and don't know how the story will end...

Happy Reading!!

Life of Pi

This one I read because the movie was releasing into theaters and I wanted to read it because it seemed interesting. Well, there is no real story behind this one. I saw the movie trailer and thought it was cool, so I decided to read the book. And the movie is really good. It is super interesting and I loved it...

However, I have suggested it to some adult friends of mine. And they have read it and told me that it was really good.

Here's the cover-

In the former French colony of India, Pondicherry; a boy named Piscine Molitor Patel is born. He got his name from a close family friend (whom he refers to as his uncle) who regards the Piscine Molitor pool in France as the best pool to ever swim in. He told Pi's father that in order to have an amazing boy, he would have to have an amazing name. But eventually, the name was shortened to Pi for simplicity. He and his older brother Ravi grew up on their family's zoo where their daily chores involve feeding the animals and sweeping the zoo.

One day, the family receives a cage with a tiger inside. Their father warns the two boys not to go anywhere near the cage until the tiger is put in an enclosure, but Pi dares his brother to go near the cage and stick his hand inside the bar. When the brothers reach the cage, they are caught by their father and punished by watching a goat get brutally killed by the tiger. 

A few year later, economic struggles push the Patel family to move to an Indian area in Canada where they will operate a new zoo with even more exotic animals. But the only ship they can catch going to Canada is a cargo ship with a stern captain and an unfriendly crew. However, the family decides to ignore it in hopes of a better life in Canada.

One night during a storm, the ship sinks. Pi is the only survivor apart from the tiger, an orangutan a zebra and a hyena. Stranded on a lifeboat, he tries his hardest to stay alive and not get eaten by the animals on the boat with him.

Life becomes a struggle for him as he watches the animals tear each other apart and wonders if he will live to see the next sunrise.

My thoughts-

I love it to death. (Till my death, not Pi's...) Just about one of the best books I have ever read. Very descriptive (not in a bad way, but very descriptive. With emphasis on the very.) The beginning is a little strange. When Pi talks about his childhood, he is really on the lifeboat and is writing inside a survival journal. He wants his life to be documented, so in case he does die, the boat will wash ashore and someone will see his diary.

What I liked (for some odd twisted reason) was how Pi described the animals killing each other. First he gave the real story, but the reporters did not believe him. Then he used the same story, but put humans in the place of animals to make it more believable.

He said that the zebra with the broken leg was a Chinese sailor, the orangutan was his mother and the hyena was the cook. Where was he or the tiger in all of this?

When the boat sank, Pi swam towards a lifeboat. There he saw the sailor gripping his leg and screaming in pain, his mother worrying and fussing over him, and the cook brandishing a knife. A few days out at sea, the sailor's leg became infected and they were forced to amputate it. Without any proper tools or anesthesia, the sailor nearly tore himself apart in pain. Eventually the boy died and his body was thrown overboard. The next day, Pi's mother found the cook using the sailor's leg as bait. She screamed at him that what he was doing was inhumane and cannibalistic and he replied by killing her. When Pi saw his mother's dead body, he tried to resist, but couldn't help but pick up the same knife that had been used to kill his mother and killed the cook. He threw both of their bodies overboard so he would forget what had happened.

The movie is really awesome too. It made me cry (literally.). But the book is way better. Always.

13 Treasures (13 Treasures Trilogy Book #1)

I read this book nearly two or three years ago and it has been evading capture by my mind for a review. And that's funny because it's one of the bigger books in my room that sits on my desk and not on my bookshelf. I only remembered it because recently me and my friend were browsing through the school library and she found this book on the school catalog. It wasn't in the library, so I offered her that I'd give her the copy. That's how I remembered to write a review on it. I've read it multiple times out of boredom and loved it each time.

A picture of the cover-

Tanya thinks she's insane. The fairies only she can see torment and torture her. But the worst part is that no one ever believes her. It's okay to pretend until a certain age, but soon people think you're crazy. Her mother decides that Tanya needs a little time away from home and with her grandmother who lives in a secluded mansion in the middle of nowhere. At first, everything seems to be going well until Tanya finds a newspaper article dated back fifty years, explaining how a girl simply vanished off the face of the Earth. Neither her body, nor anything on her person was ever recovered.

Tanya and her cousin Fabian begin to suspect that the answer to this mystery lies inside the mansion somewhere. They begin by exploring the old servant's floor where no one is allowed; for fear that it will collapse. But could there be another reason no one is allowed on the second floor?

Tanya is given a bracelet by her grandmother who doesn't really explain much about it. When Tanya puts it on, she learns that she can talk to all kinds of interesting magical creatures, from trolls to the garden gnomes in her backyard. After reading a book about fairies in her grandmother's library, Tanya learns what the charms on her bracelet signify. Each charm represents one of the thirteen treasures, thirteen sacred items that help with ruling the fairy world.

One night, a stranger breaks into the house by way of secret tunnels leading from the church to the mansion. When Tanya begins to investigate, she finds an orphan girl who calls herself Red and claims to know a lot about fairies and what is going on. So they make a deal. Tanya will make sure Red has a place to stay (in secret of course) in the mansion and in exchange, Red will provide Tanya with information about the fairy world.

While investigating the manor, Tanya and Fabian learn the secret of the Elvesdens, the original owners of the mansion. Lady Elvesden could see fairies and wrote down the knowledge that they gave her in diaries. Once her husband found them, he destroyed them; so Lady Elvesden kept on writing more diaries and hiding them all over the house. Then Master Elvesden placed his wife in an asylum, so she would learn to embrace the real world and not her so-called fantasies. But, a week after she was placed in the asylum, Lady Elvesden died violently. People tried to find the cause of her death, but there was nothing around her that could have caused her to die. Her body wasn't poisoned and there was no evidence of suicide. It was as if her body had just simply imploded

Wherever they go, danger seems to be looming over them and specifically Tanya. It seems that she and her mother were used as bargaining tools for Tanya's grandmother to escape the wrath of her former best friend. Can Tanya put an end to this madness that has been engulfing her family? Or will only she be left to pay the price her grandmother couldn't pay fifty years ago?

My thoughts-

Incredibly well written. I have read a great many books that imply that there is another world next to our own, but very few have escalated to the level of this one. The twists and turns made perfect sense and despite how I wrote the summary up there, the plot is actually simple.

It is a very thick book, but don't put it down because of that. I swear that you will be hungrily turning the pages, wanting more.

Apart from the details and how they were written, I do have to say that I didn't understand how Red traded herself for Tanya at the last minute. Sure, she wanted to look for her brother in the fairy world, but it was a little sudden. And, how did she even know what was going on? And you don't even catch on to the mystery until the very end. Actually, you don't catch up until the climax is over and you are left with the falling action. How did Fabian even know that there was a lock of Morwenna's hair in his father's room? How did he know to destroy it?

((If you enjoy this book, look for 13 Secrets and 13 Curses in that order))

Graceling (Graceling Realm Book #1)

This book I finished just this morning because I was so bored and I woke up at 5:30 AM for some odd reason. I actually started it last Saturday because my family was driving to Quebec City for the Spring Break and I was getting bored in the car. I've been reading it continuously for I think two nights and then two hours this morning.

                                

Well, I found out about it because a friend of mine (the same friend who recommended me a lot of books on this blog ((I think she should write this instead of me...))) had told me about it, but she said it was boring. I looked at the cover and then read the summary. It seemed like a good story. I didn't know what could be so boring about it. I have yet to ask her about why she found it boring, but to me it seemed quite interesting. Then one day I requested it from the library. It took me a long time, but finally I got to read it.

Here's the cover (I have written it in my to do list to draw the sword on the cover since I liked it so much)-

In the seven kingdoms, the Graced are either exploited or completely shunned by society. Enter Katsa, a girl Graced with killing who has been used by her uncle King Randa to do his dirty work in killing people and going on rescue missions. One day, the prince of the neighboring kingdom Lienid visits Randa's castle to have him aid the boy in his search for his missing grandfather Prince Tealiff. Prince Greening or Po as he is called is Graced with the talent of fighting. Katsa brings Po to his grandfather who is living with one of Katsa's friends in Randa City. Po really had no need to go through all the trouble of finding him because only a few days before, Katsa and her friend Oll had rescued him from the dungeons of a kingdom far away.

The problem is that Tealiff can't remember who kidnapped him. Katsa and Po come up with a list of suspects and narrow it down to King Murgon of Sunder or King Leck of Monsea. On their adventures, Katsa and Po find Leck and try to kill him. It ends badly with Katsa's mind getting warped when she tried to shoot Leck.

They meet Princess Bitterblue, the daughter of Leck, who is scared of them at first. Po and Katsa determine that she could be useful in their killing of Leck. When they fight Leck again, Po hits his head and receives amnesia. He can't seem to remember what they were doing in the forest.

Bitterblue and Katsa have to cross through the treacherous mountains to reach Sunder where they will catch a ship to go to Monport where Leck's castle is.

My thoughts-

A very good first novel. It is interesting and I can't wait to read the sequel and the companion book. I have to admit that the beginning is a little boring and it doesn't pick up speed until page one hundred where Katsa and Po set out on their adventure.

I was pretty happy to see their goal acheived and Leck dead. Actually, I liked how Katsa was only spared from Leck's mind-ensnaring Grace for a moment and she threw her dagger at him. It hit him not in the heart, but went through his mouth and pinned him to the wall with his mouth open. I thought that was quite interesting for some very odd reason.

Honestly, this was a good first novel for someone who is quite new to the writing profession. Hey, I'm a real newbie. I've only been seriously writing since about fourth grade which was three years ago.

((If you like this one, read the sequel Bitterblue and the companion novel Fire))